Business Advocates Say Democrat Support for TPA Grows as Unions Stay on Offensive
More House Democrats are guaranteed to jump on board Trade Promotion Authority before Republican leadership puts the legislation up for a vote in the House, and lawmakers are on course to pass TPA and other trade legislation in the coming days or weeks, said John Engler, president of the Business Roundtable on a June 8 conference call. Engler declined to comment on when he expects a House vote and House Republican leadership also remains guarded (see 1506080013). Experts say House leadership is waiting to vote until they ensure the necessary support is there (see 1505310002).
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The number of Democrats that support TPA now rests at 19, after Kathleen Rice, D-N.Y., declared her backing for TPA in an op-ed in The Hill on June 6. “Those of us who truly care about American workers have to modernize our thinking and objectively evaluate deals outside of the shadow of past failures,” said Rice (here). “The president has made a compelling case for why the Trans-Pacific Partnership will be different than prior trade deals and why fast-track authority is necessary to getting it done. I’ve done my homework and I agree with him.”
Rice, a freshman lawmaker on Capitol Hill, signed a letter opposing TPA in January (here). The AFL-CIO continues to criticize Rice over her alleged “flip-flop,” and the network of unions launched a “six-figure ad buy” (here) in her Long Island district. Other consumer groups have jumped on board the criticism. “Rice hasn't just betrayed her own public statements and the constituents she promised to protect. She's also increased the threat of unsafe food and pollution for all Long Islanders,” said Food & Water Watch official Alex Beauchamp in an AFL-CIO statement. “It's critical that the people Rice has sworn to serve know the truth about her sudden, callous sell-out of their health, safety and economic security.”
Despite the high tensions on Capitol Hill, the Business Roundtable, an advocacy group comprised of business CEOs, is currently in “all-out, full-court press” to shore up support for the legislation, said the organization’s chairman Randall Stephenson on the conference call. Business advocates are largely targeting lawmakers who haven’t voted in the past on TPA, said Engler. Rice hasn’t voted on the bill before. The business community has focused for months on educating those lawmakers on the details on TPA, Engler said.